shipping | open + overflow post

She might or might be hissing at the door, but hopefully is being done subtly enough that he doesn't notice. Honestly, the idea of leaving this place behind is tempting, but Mrs. White is here, and she likes her enough to stand the annoyance that's her neighbor.

She waits until she hears one last curse aimed at her (geez! What the hell!?) before her lovely neighbor seems to move back into her apartment.

"I did warn you that she was, ah, particular, I guess." Understatement of the century there. How Patrice's fiance is willing to deal with that, she doesn't know.

There's a bit of a confused blink when she's offered the flowers and chocolate (oh! those were unexpected), not having even noticed he was holding those. She recovers quickly enough and smiles while accepting the offerings provided to her. "My thank you, Steve. Though apologies for my neighbor, I didn't expect her to harass you like that."

"Can't believe you deal with her on a daily basis," he says. "I'm sure you could put in a noise complaint." Because regardless of any beef between them, Jessica deserves to be in an apartment where she can hear herself think without being verbally insulted all the time.

But, thankfully, they're moving on from talks about the neighbor. "And don't worry about me, I can handle it. I just don't like the way she talks about you," he says, sternly, his eyebrows knitting in thought. It just seemed overly-rude to talk about Jessica that way to Steve, who was a complete stranger.

"I'll be more assertive next time." And stop her before she starts in on her rant. "If there's a next time. Maybe instead you could come to my apartment. It's quieter." He tries to save this interaction, and gives her a warm smile.

"I have but even they seem wary of her, and I am the only person she has beef with so..." That's to say they had decided to ignore it and let the both of them handle it, which hadn't worked that well so far.

She shrugs her shoulders just a bit, "It's fine, she sometimes decides to be a bit more quiet about it, nothing I can't handle." Jessica had gone through worst stuff than a woman hating her, and for a moment she had worried her pheromones had been the cause but those doubts were quickly cleared off.

"I think that might be a better idea, you know. I will rather avoid another meeting like this, as it is, she didn't recognize you." Or it didn't look as if she had, she moved further into her apartment to put the flowers on a vase. "This time I promise not to bring any fish with me unless you want some."

"No, I'm all right," he answers. No more koi for his nonexistent pond. And he'd given her a tank, and he's not sure he could go on Facebook Marketplace and score another one.

"Have you thought about asking her straight up what the problem she has with you is?" he asks. "Because maybe once you talk it out, she'll realize she's being ridiculous." Oh Steve. Ever the optimist. If only everyone thought like he does.

"Anyway, it's only for a little bit. And then after I meet with her, I get to see you. So that's worth it." He gives a sweet smile. They could put this topic to be.d

She just smiles, because who knows, she might find a way to get him some fish again. There is a small pause and she turns to look at him, is she a bit surprised at that optimism? Yes, maybe a little bit, he also sounds so very earnest.

"She thinks I am fucking her fiance, Steve." And she is being rather blunt here, even though she sounds amused about it. "We have talked, and so has her fiance, but she seems convinced that I am a monster or something." Which may be fair enough, she has done horrible things so maybe close there. "It will get better eventually."

Lovely Patrice might move away once she marries, or so was the plan. She smiles back at him, "Are you flirting with me, Mr. Rogers? How scandalous."

"I was hoping it would come off less scandalous and more welcome. Besides, maybe if I'm over more, she'll stop accusing you of being a." He doesn't know what's a nice word to say to use in this place. "Harlot?" Nope, but he tried.

That's also an optimistic way of putting it. She might just think that Jessica is two-timing Steve, but he doesn't think she would. If they were serious. Which they are not. So she's free to see anyone she wishes.

But Steve would definitely also prefer if she were not fucking Patrice's fiance. "If you've already explained it to her... I mean, why does she still think you're both going behind her back?"

She can't help the little laugh that escapes her lips then, certainly, that wasn't a word she had expected to hear from his lips. "I think the exact insult she uses is the whore of Babylon, which I have to give her kudos for, I didn't think she read the Bible." As she had never seen her as a devout, what does she know anyway they are not friends at all. "She will probably try to warn you away and to keep your distance or something like that."

For some reason, one that Jessica can't understand, her neighbor fixated her disdain and vitriol on her, it was a bit bizarre. She had never even brought anyone here for her to come up with such accusations, Steve was technically the first person she ever dated or whatever this was.

"I have asked myself that several times, I mean, she keeps thinking we are and is still willing to marry him." This maybe meant that deep down Patrice knew and was just looking for a reason to excuse her dislike for her. "Her fiance is a nice guy though, a gentleman and friendly, he is cute I guess, and did help me out once with some furniture, and he has the patience of a saint."

He would definitely not say whore of babylon, but he can't remember the last time he uttered the word whore, or if he ever had. It's just not a word he keeps in his vocabulary.

"Guess it must be the furniture," he says. "Maybe she thinks that's code for something. Like she's read all the words at Ikea and have no idea what it means when he says he's coming over to help you with your Kallax." Why is Steve hanging out at Ikeas? Well, probably just for the experience.

"Why don't we put on a movie? Maybe she'll get over it if she hears us just doing normal everyday things and realizes you're just a person, like she is, and not some - don't make me say it."

"Do all of your furniture come from IKEA, Steve? Also, take a seat and make yourself comfortable." Because that was very specific and it's not as if she was judging, IKEA did have good stuff from time to time, and she indulged, but they were too flimsy and could break apart the same making it easy to make weapons out of it. "In her mind, we are probably having several amounts of sex or whatever, which is weird if you ask me."

Which, to be fair, Jessica might have considered if the man didn't have a relationship already. She finally found a vase for the flowers, one that had been a gift from the sole neighbor she liked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she has her ear pressed on the door right now and hoping to hear whatever we are doing, which is a bit voyeuristic really." Before she can't help it, she is laughing again. "I am not forcing you to say anything, you know. Is there anything in particular you will like to watch?"

"None of it does, but you can't beat the breakfast deal at $1.50." Look, the man has priorities and it's being fed on a budget. At least he doesn't make his meals like he lives in the Depression anymore. Maybe he needs to get a second job to pay the bills.

"Wait, why would she think that?" he asks, because that's just a weird thing to think of your neighbors! Very presumptuous. Besides, it's not like they've done that yet. He hasn't even held Jessica's hand. This is strange to him, and he's not sure how to take it. Sometimes he's just reminded that he's very old-fashioned.

"And why would she do that?" That seems like totally unhinged behavior to him, but he'll elect to ignore it so that they can watch something nice in peace. "Whatever you're interested in. We can watch that. I probably haven't seen it before."

"I will judge, but they sell good food there, and at relatively affordable prices." It will be hypocritical of her not to admit having gone there to just eat, not that she needed to admit that. Even the salmon there tasted good, which was quite an achievement.

With a slight hum, she fixed the flowers on the vase and gave him a look, "Do I need to say the W word again, Steve? That's the perception she has of me, so she will think that." Not that they have done anything at all, he was not the type to just do stuff like that, or at least not without properly knowing someone, and yes, some might call it old-fashioned, but it was fine that he was looking for something more meaningful for himself.

"I was kidding, I don't think she will do something like that, or at least I hope so." With Patrice, she really couldn't tell as the woman seemed aware when she arrived even if it was at ungodly late hours, and that probably just fueled her a bit. "Do you have a list of films or stuff to watch? Maybe we can tackle something from there."

He does have a list of films and stuff they can watch, so he takes it out of his pocket and offers it to her. "Every time someone suggests something, I write it down in the notebook."

It's starting to get a little full, because he'd thought the list wouldn't be so long. But it's got more than just movies in it. He'd crossed off a few things he'd put on the list, like Thai food, or the Star Wars films. But there's so many that he still hadn't gotten around to.

"You can put some recommendations on there too, if you'd like." He wants to know what kind of things she likes, what kinds of things she thinks he might like too.

She takes the offered list, and well it seems to have quite a lot of options, not only from media but also events and people. "Oldboy? Who suggested that movie to you?" She is not quite sure he will enjoy a film like that, but giving something a shot at least once had its merits. "And from all the artists listed here, I am surprised to see Shakira present instead of someone like Beyonce."

And it's also maybe distressing her a bit that he doesn't seem to have made a lot of headway with it, but then he was a busy man and had been, in his words, a fugitive as well, so maybe not a lot of time there. "Ah, you haven't seen the Lord of the Rings yet, missing out there." When she was young only The Hobbit had been published, and her mum used to read it to her. And to think it had sequels and her parents, especially her mother never had the chance to read them. "I will say that, but I prefer the director's cut, and those last quite a bit."

Maybe that's something that can be tackled next time. "You have quite a lot of suggestions, to be honest." And quite varied, but if he kept adding and not watching it he might find himself with a never-ending list. "I am surprised no one has added any Ghibli films, animated as they are, you might at least appreciate the artistic aspect and they are quite good." She looks up at him with an amused little smile, "I think you might have enough as it is without adding my recommendations, and if I do you might end with a lot of horror or Asian dramas, which I am also surprised no one has recommended yet."

"Maybe we could watch the Lord of the Rings," he says. "I'm a big fan of the Hobbit. I've been meaning to sit down and put on more Tolkien but they're just so long. I started reading Fellowship, actually," he says. "But I don't get a lot of reading time."

He'd enjoyed that book a lot because... "The Hobbit came out right before the war. Bucky read it, and he leant it to me. And Tolkien had written it to get out his feelings about dealing with World War I," he explains. That's the war his father died in. "Brought me closer to my dad, I think, when I served."

So, yes, Lord of the Rings is on the front of the list. But horror and Asian dramas could wait until he's made his way through some of the dramatic western canon. Apparently people peg him for a serious drama kind of guy, and not a rom com or straight comedy type. They're not too wrong.

She didn't said anything for a long time, his words had maybe hit a bit too close to home there. She knew the first war had costed both her grandfathers, and the Hobbit copy her mother had first belonged to her brother, Jessica barely remembered seeing his handwritten name in the cover. "I understand that sense of closeness."

Because her uncle hadn't returned from the second war, and the book had been one of the few things her mother had of him and now it was gone, forever lost after everything with...she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring the burning sensation in her eyes, no sense in thinking about the things she couldn't get back now.

"Lord of the Rings is a near twelve hours endeavor, Steve, as you can't just see the one without wanting to see the rest." She kept her tone amused, even if she wasn't looking at him, distracting herself with his list. "We can try with something shorter, I see some rom-coms here that might be worth checking out."

"Sure," he says, "if you're not up for the challenge." Of watching three movies at once. That does seem like a lot, but he's finally trying to carve out some time. And with his schedule and the amount of times he falls asleep during movies, they might need to carve out more than twelve hours.

But no movie just takes the two needed for the film, for him. he always finds himself having to get up and do something else. That's one of the issues he has now, in this form. It's all the energy.

"Do you want me to order us take-out?" he asks, getting out his phone to do so. He'll gladly treat.

"I have done it before," She regrets nothing of doing so, and it had helped to distract her a bit. But not everyone has the patience for it sometimes, "We can watch 10 Things I Hate About You, which sounds like a relatively acceptable choice, kudos to whoever picked that."

She had heard good things about it, as she had never actually seen the film herself, and it will be a first for both. There is a slight nod to his offer to order takeout, she needed to find out which streaming service was offering it, she could go the illegal way but she figures that he wouldn't appreciate her doing so.

"Order whatever you want and let me know how much it is." Yes, she could let him treat her, but she is a bit stubborn, and while she is aware of the idea of letting a man pay for everything, a small part of her gripes with the idea of being indebted somehow even though she is aware that wasn't the case, or at least not with him.

That sounds like a decent idea, putting on a random film and just trying to relate to it. He doesn't know if he can - there's a lot of modern things that he finds he doesn't like. He doesn't really understand why people in sitcoms can't just communicate. But he might like this.

And if Jessica likes it, he'll try.

"I'll get us this time," he counters. "You can get us next time." He's just as stubborn as she is, and he's the one doing the ordering. She'll just have to be faster than he is next time. And, well, okay, he might just have a few holdover sensibilities from the forties.

But he wouldn't ever want to insult her by this; he'd stop if he thought it was really bothering her.

"Fine, I'll allow it this time." They could be stubborn it seems, and this could last for a bit if she didn't lay it to rest now. Besides he is right, and she could treat them next time, it was only fair and it's not as if she minded.

She found the film and frowned just a tad bit at the summary because it wasn't saying much, and it seemed to be a teen-oriented one and neither of them was in the age bracket.

"For honest sake, I have never seen this film but it seems to be oriented toward teens." And she had never even gotten to be one, and the life of a teen was probably quite different during his times. "We can give it a shot and see what happens we are not convinced we can try another."

"Sure." He doesn't mind that. He's also just never seen it. He hasn't even seen a single romantic comedy. He's not really in the right demographic for that. He doesn't think that Jessica is in the right demographic either, but they can give it a fair shake.

After all, this list is just a list of suggestions. And there could be diamonds in here for all he knows; he just wants to try a little of everything and see what he likes. He hasn't seen enough yet to form an opinion besides that he likes old stuff, still.

In any case, he takes his phone and hands it to her, menu open, so she can make a selection that they can order together and just have a normal date with a normal couple's activity. It makes him happy.

With a smile, she accepts the offered phone and checks the menu over before making her selection and handing the phone back to him. And, if this is how dates are supposed to go, it seems to be going well so far.

"If anything, I suppose we can try anything Austen, her works have a lot of adaptations." Or their stubborn streak might strike and they might just end up watching the film toward the end, even if they might not particularly like it. "Should we start watching or wait until our food is here?"

And also before she forgets, she hands him back his suggestion list, she might add whatever suggestion she could have later, and if he is still interested in them, granted she doesn't have that many but she should have enough to add two or three, he has more than enough as it is, anyway.

"Let's just start it," he says. "We can pause when the food gets here. And... Austen's all right. Not my favorite." He's read the books. He found them okay, a nice peek into the past. He liked the romance. But overall, they're just not really his speed.

He much prefers fantasy and adventure, so he might like classics like The Mummy or Indiana Jones. He'd probably enjoy a good jungle-themed adventure. Or Tomb Raider, or something.

But he'll be happy to go with the flow and do whatever. She seems like she's got an idea, and so, he's happy to just let her take the lead. After all, he is a guest in this house.

A small laugh escapes her lips, "I have never read anything from Austen, so I have not much of an opinion on her." The closest she had been to anything Austen had been her old neighbor, as she liked it. "Let's make it fair, if this one doesn't works, you pick the next one, easy as that."

Which wouldn't offend her at all, she has a feeling this one might not be the speed for either of them, but who knows, it might surprise them. There has to be a reason why this movie is so well-liked, or it could be the nostalgia goggles. But then, The Princess Bride was good and she enjoyed that one.

She took a seat on her couch and motioned for him to do the same, she started at the screen for a few seconds before turning to look at him. "Let's give it until the food arrives and decide then if we continue watching it, at least then we can say we gave it a fair shot."

"Okay," he agrees, easily. He does like this part of a relationship, where they agree on all the little things because there aren't big things, where there are no disagreements to be had at all. He knows that won't last forever, even with the best of relationships, so he'll cherish it now.

But he does hope that they get to that point, where they can fight about something and get over the hump together.

He leans back and waits for the beginning to start. "You've got a deal." It starts off okay, with the main protagonist. She's not so bad. He, on the other hand, is a dick. Steve's not shy about voicing his opinion on that. "Is it okay to talk? Or do you not want to talk during the movie?"

It was only fair to get a middle ground, or so she had come to learn, and this way they both will get a say about it. They are sitting together with enough polite distance between each other, which is the fine and proper way to go about things, after all.

And the movie is...fine? She is still trying to make her opinion of it, but it's hard when she finds a fault in most characters and the lack of just sitting down to talk, but maybe that's the point.

There are a lot of questionable people here, like really paying someone to date a girl so you could date the sister, what? "Yes, we can talk, I don't mind." She knows some people don't, but she does like being able to do so and discuss minor gripes or things she might like. "I kind of like Kat, I guess, but everyone else...not really, Joey is a full-on asshole though, I know I don't like him."

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merging all the different versions of his list here.

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